A Close Encounter With Readello (Google Reader iPhone App)

Created by the Acceletron Corporation, Readello could best be described as a “mellow gReader app” whose simple layout will cater to users unfamiliar with RSS readers in general (at least on their iPhone/iPod Touch).

Although it may not be as advanced as Byline, Doppler or Feeds, Readello does offer some of the basic functionality for Google Reader (such as starring, natural folder view, etc.).

Costing only a $1 (note: it use to be $4), Readello offers users an inexpensive way to view their Google Reader feeds without breaking the bank.

The Good

With a simple tap of your finger, Readello allows users to either view all of their unread items, folders or individual feeds.

While the basic layout may not impress power users, gReader newbie’s will enjoy Readello’s simplistic layout.

Another interesting item I discovered about Readello is that instead of creating multiple feature buttons throughout the app, they chose to create one “power button” that you tap in order to perform a desired function (such as starring, emailing or viewing the article within the app).

Last but not least Readello gives users the option of syncing feeds based upon age (instead of size), which may be helpful if you are severely behind in feed reading.

The Bad

Even though I loved Readello’s keep it simple approach, the app was missing many critical features to make it a favorite (at least for Google Reader gurus).

The first was the inability to share a feed with gReader friends (not even through notes/comments).

Since Google is slowly morphing Google Reader into a social network, the inability to share interesting items outside of email may make Readello less attractive (as most gReader apps already have this feature).

Readello also lacks landscape mode, which may make it harder to view larger images (as to my knowledge Readello does not optimize the images in order to make them fit).

Last but not least I found Readello seems to be unable to handle a large number of feeds, as the app would often crash (or worse, freeze my iPhone) whenever I was syncing (or resyncing) all of my feeds.

Conclusion

While Readello is a bargain at around $1, hopefully the company will continue to add more features, as this apps simple approach could help the masses adopt RSS reading on their iDevice (instead of relying upon the Google Reader web app).

Note: For those of you interested in comparing Readello to the gReader apps reviewed thus far, feel free to check out this comparison chart.

Author: Darnell Clayton

Darnell Clayton is a geek who discovered blogging long before he heard of the word “blog” (he called them “web journals” then).

When he is not tweeting, friendfeeding, or blogging about space, he enjoys running, reading and describing himself in third person.

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Comments

Not a single one of the Google Reader apps for the iPhone are nearly as good as the web app. I’ve tried almost all of them and they are just terrible compared to the Google Reader web app. I really just wish that Apple would use the fullscreen web app option so that I could save the Google Reader app on my home screen and not have to deal with tabs when opening it.